The First Meeting
by The Confused One
Summary: Bobby remembers meeting Alex. No real plot. It's just a random BobbyAlex friendshippartnership moment. BA friendship
1. You can call me Eames

The First Meeting

By: The Confused One

Rating: K

Feedback: Please! I live for reviews and feedback. Feel free to tell me what you think, good or bad. Thanks.

Disclaimer: Seriously, I'm an unemployed college student. I have nothing of true value. This is just for fun, and I promise to return Bobby and Alex unharmed. Please don't sue.

Archive: Sure, as long as you tell me where it is.

Summary: Bobby remembers first meeting Alex.

A/N: This little something popped into my head and kind of wrote itself. I'm not sure how good it is, but I hope everyone likes it. I'll get back to my other stories soon, I promise. Thanks for reading and please remember to review.

Bobby looked up at Alex when she called his name. With a smirk on her face, she handed him a piece of paper and sarcastically explained, "He should have known better than to play with the nanny."

Bobby smiled back. He met her eyes and nodded. It was moments like this that Bobby cherished. The little things with Alex had grown to mean a lot to him. It amazed him sometimes. She was still here. They were still partners, and had grown to like each other. Letting his mind wander, he remembered that first day. He assessed now, in hindsight, they had been utterly unprepared for each other. That first meeting had set the tone of their relationship for months.

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Famed Detective Robert Goren walked off the elevator on the eleventh floor of 1PP. He was confident that the move to Major Case was a good decision. He was looking forward to seeing who his new partner would be. Leaving Jerry had been hard, but he was hopeful that he'd get along with this new guy. He had uncharacteristically read very little about him before arriving today. Pretty much all he knew was his name was Alex Eames. He wondered what happened to Alex's now former partner. Bobby decided he'd ask him, eventually.

Bobby made his way to the Captain's office door. He knocked hesitantly. A voice inside called out, "Come in."

Bobby opened the door and inspected his new Captain. Closing the door, Bobby decided he liked him, right off. Captain Deakins' posture told Bobby he was a laid back and someone that an unorthodox Detective, like himself, could work with. Also, Bobby knew his penchant for bucking authority and could already tell that Deakins was commanding enough to keep him in line. It might work out. Bobby introduced himself, "Hi. Captain Deakins, I'm Detective Goren."

Bobby watched Deakins nod his head and stand. Bobby shook his hand. Deakins smiled and greeted him, "It's good to meet you. I'll grab Detectives Eames so you two can meet."

Bobby nodded. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but Bobby found himself a little nervous. Bobby took a deep breath. He did what he could to keep his idiosyncrasies in check. There wasn't room for a bad first impression. He watched Deakins stick his head out of his office door and call out, "Eames. Come here a minute."

Bobby watched with curiosity. He mentally took a guess at who was going to stand and walk to the door. Then he realized it was her. A petite young woman was heading for the door. He watched her closely. She was obviously pretty and preferred to underplay her looks, and he was at least a foot taller than her. Bobby had never worked with a woman, and he wasn't sure how comfortable he was with the idea. Deakins moved to let her in. Bobby noticed how she practically ignored him. Looking at the Captain, she asked, "Yes Captain?"

Bobby watched the Captain sit back down. His new partner finally glanced over at him. He watched her turn back to Deakins, who explained, "Detective Alexandra Eames meet Detective Robert Goren."

Bobby was glad to have her attention now. She smiled slightly. Bobby decided instantly that he liked her smile. Sticking her hand out, she introduced herself, "Alex Eames, actually. You can call me Eames."

Bobby shook her hand. Evaluating her was more a challenge than he had expected. There was a certain amount of coldness to her. He could almost see and feel the walls. He could tell it took some effort to get past her barriers and get to the real Alex. In his mind, Bobby acknowledged his own barriers and had a gut feeling he and his new partner definitely weren't going to be out drinking and hanging out after work. They were both too closed off for that. No one was going to push and get the other to open up. Bobby figured that it suited him just fine. Keeping work at work was fine with him. He finally replied to her comment, "It's Bobby Goren. You can call me Goren."

Bobby watched as Alex arched her eyebrows. To Bobby the look on her face said maybe she was impressed, but he also saw something else playing across her face. It was something akin to amusement. She looked at Deakins and assured him, "I'll show him desk." He watched her head for the door. He knew her next comments were obviously directed to him, "I'll take you to your desk. It's across from mine."

Bobby nodded and dutifully followed. Assessing her further, he decided she put up a front, an attitude, to try to blend in with all the male cops. Something about her demeanor made him wonder if maybe, just maybe, she didn't come from a family of cops. She pointed to the desk across from hers and announced, "It's all yours."

Bobby nodded. He started looking the desk over. He ran his hands around the edges. He was on his hands and knees checking underneath it, before he realized Alex had sat down and was watching him with a look of confusion. Standing up he tried to explain, "I was just…checking it over."

The look on her face reminded him that he was being silly. He hadn't really expected to find anything, but he couldn't help it. He was going to have to deal with this desk for a long time, faults and all. He wanted to know its faults. It would guide him as to how to place his things on it. Sitting down, he almost protested the look on her face, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. She looked back down at her paperwork, deciding, apparently to Bobby, to ignore him. After a moment, he watched her flip the page on a report she was reading, and he heard her mumble, "There he goes, down the rabbit hole."

Something about it had surprised him. He wasn't sure why. Cynical went with closed off and walled up for most people. Pointing to the elevator, Bobby explained, "I'm going to go get my stuff."

He was glad to her eyes meet his, finally. She nodded and agreed, "Yeah. It will probably be a little while before we get handed a case. It'll give you some time to unpack."

Bobby nodded. He hurried to the elevator. She was beginning to confuse him. Confused was the last emotion Bobby was prepared to deal with.

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Bobby smiled again. Yes, the first few minutes hadn't gone very smoothly, but he wouldn't trade those moments any more than he would trade the moments he has with her now. Because he knows, those moments before have lead to the moments they have now, and those moments are as precious as gold to Bobby Goren.

Bobby sees her look back up at him with a confused look on her face. He tries to look down and hope he didn't get caught staring, but he knows he has. The confirmation of that comes when she asks, "What are you smirking at?"

Bobby met her eyes. He shrugged and honestly replied, "When we first met."

Bobby saw her shake her head. She gently replied, "I thought you were certifiable."

Bobby nodded. He understood what she was getting at. He knew she knew as well as he did how much they had gotten off on the wrong foot. He admitted, "I thought you were the coldest person I had ever met."

He watched Alex snort. She wagged her finger and cracked, "I think I run a distant second to a certain psycho blonde we know."

Bobby shook his head. Things had definitely changed since those early days. He couldn't imagine not working with her anymore. It occurred to him that somewhere along the way they had become inseparable. He couldn't work without her anymore. He was too used to their shorthand. He was too used to how often they were on the same page and how easy it was to get there if they weren't. Sure they fought on occasion, but Bobby knew nothing would ever tear them apart. He was secure in that knowledge. They were solid. It kept him going sometimes when the case was intense and he was running on no sleep. He could always rely on her. She could always rely on him.


	2. You can call me Alex

The First Meeting Chapter 2

By: The Confused One

A/N: I decided to add a second chapter to this story. I hope everyone likes it. Please read and review.

Bobby looked back down at the paper she had passed him. It suddenly hit him. Looking back up at her, he handed it back to her saying, "Eames, there's something else. They're cousins."

Alex met Bobby's eyes with a look of disgust. She shook her head and replied, "I wonder if they know."

Bobby smiled slightly. Taking the paper back and placing it in his notebook, he stood and suggested, "Let's go find out."

Alex smiled too. She quickly followed him to the elevators.

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Standing in the living room, Alex watched as Bobby needled the wife, Cynthia, "You figured it out didn't you? You found out that your husband was having an affair with his cousin! That must have been…embarrassing."

Cynthia looked away, desperately trying not to cry. She shook her head vigorously. She insisted, "No. No. I didn't know."

Bobby moved around to face her. He continued pounding, "How…humiliating. Your husband would rather sleep with the hired help, his long lost cousin Claire, than you. That couldn't have been easy to swallow."

Alex kept an eye on Lisa, the stunned cousin, as she played her part in Bobby's game, "I know I'd have a hard time with it."

Bobby nodded. He continued, "He had to be taught a lesson. You had to get your revenge."

Suddenly, Cynthia broke down in tears, "Yes. OK. I did know. I knew, and I killed him. I killed him. I couldn't let him get away with it."

Bobby nodded slightly. He triumphantly announced, "Cynthia, you're under arrest…"

Alex stopped listening, as Bobby led the woman outside to the waiting uniform cops. Looking at the shaken woman sitting before she asked, "You're going to have to take care of these kids now."

With tears streaming down her face, Claire absently replied, "How am I supposed to explain all of this to those kids? I mean, his cousin."

Alex still wasn't sure how they had managed to not know, but she figured it wasn't her place. She nodded and headed for the door. Seeing Carver, she quipped, "Please tell me you're not here with bad news."

Carver smiled slightly. Shaking his head, he assured her, "No. No. You're fine. I was just here to make sure everything got handled properly. The Mayor has been all over Arthur, who has been all over me to get this one done right."

Alex nodded. Moving past him, she warned, "She's still processing. We'll get her statement later."

Carver nodded and watched the woman as Alex left the room to catch up to Bobby. He knew that's where he'd find her if he needed her.

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Sitting back down at his desk, he looked at Alex, who smiled and sat down at her desk. He started, "I guess that went about as smooth as it could have gone."

Alex sighed and nodded and cracked, "I guess it's a lesson in be careful who you sleep with."

Bobby laughed slightly and began shuffling the paperwork that seemed to be growing on his desk. He sighed slightly, and picked up one of his files. Looking at it, he was confused. He hadn't asked for the file. Looking up at Alex, he called over to his partner, "Eames, did you ask for Claire Christian's file?"

Alex met his eyes. She nodded and took the file he was offering. She explained, "She looked really bad Goren. I wanted to make sure she and those kids were OK. The phone number is in here somewhere."

Bobby nodded slightly, and went back to his paperwork. He listened as she made the call. He smiled as she hung up. He was proud of her. She had, apparently, gotten Claire calmed down a little. Looking up at her, he offered, "You were good with Claire Eames."

Alex smiled slightly. Remembering their conversation from earlier, she smiled even more. She figured it was her name that brought her back to that distant conversation. She had an idea. She picked up the file and stood. Walking past him, she remarked, "Thanks. And, for the record, you're allowed to call me Alex now."

Bobby grinned now. He might have never dreamed of a moment like that with anyone when he had first joined Major Case, but he couldn't live without them now. Turning back to his paperwork, he was happy.


End file.
